Feb 15, 2019PHILADELPHIA AJ Brodeur scored six of his career-high 36 points in overtime and grabbed the last rebound to help Pennsylvania beat Dartmouth 82-79 on Friday night.Dartmouth trailed 80-79 and had possession with 14.9 remaining in the extra period. Chris Knight drove to the basket but his shot rimmed out. Brodeur grabbed the rebound with 0.6 seconds left then added a pair of free throws. Ian Sistare's half-court shot hit the top of the backboard to end it.Brodeur split a pair of free throws with 46 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 70. The Quakers forced a turnover on the next possession, but they didn't get off a shot as time expired.Brodeur grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Devon Goodman had 12 points for Penn (15-8, 3-4 Ivy League). Antonio Woods added 10 points and 10 rebounds.Knight had 25 points for the Big Green (11-12, 2-5). Sistare added 16 points. Brendan Barry had seven assists.Penn plays Harvard at home on Saturday. Dartmouth plays Princeton on the road on Saturday.---For more college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/-Top25---Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights,http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from LLC,https://www.stats.com

Feb 15, 2019BUFFALO, N. Y. Scott Hitchon scored a career-high 21 points with five 3-pointers and Canisius held on to beat Fairfield 72-68 on Friday night and take over first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.With Monmouth's loss to Rider on Friday, the Golden Griffins (12-13, 9-4) grabbed a half-game lead over the Hawks (9-5).Trailing by seven with 1:18 to go, Fairfield (7-19, 4-10) cut the Golden Griffins' lead to 70-68 on Taj Benning's 3-pointer and two free throws by Neftali Alvarez. But Canisius' Malik Johnson scored the game's final points on a pair of free throws with 12.5 seconds left.Jalanni White added 16 points for Canisius with Johnson dishing seven assists, his sixth straight game of at least seven. Canisius made 10 of 25 from the arc.Jesus Cruz scored 18 points to lead the Stags. Jonathan Kasibabu added 16 points and Alvarez 14.

Feb 15, 2019NEW YORK Miye Oni had 20 points as Yale defeated Columbia 70-64 on Friday night.Alex Copeland had 19 points for Yale (16-4, 6-1 Ivy League), which won its fourth consecutive game. Trey Phills added 15 points and six rebounds.Quinton Adlesh had 23 points for the Lions (6-15, 1-6), who have now lost five consecutive games. Gabe Stefanini added 14 points.Yale matches up against Cornell on the road on Saturday. Columbia plays Brown at home on Saturday.---For more college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/-Top25---This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap , using data from LLC, https://www.stats.com

Feb 15, 2019ITHACA, N. Y. Jimmy Boeheim had 21 points as Cornell narrowly beat Brown 70-66 in overtime on Friday night.Josh Warren had 18 points for Cornell (13-10, 5-2 Ivy League). Matt Morgan added 15 points and six rebounds.Obi Okolie had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bears (14-9, 2-5). George Mawanda-Kalema added 14 points. Tamenang Choh had 13 points and 10 rebounds.Cornell matches up against Yale at home on Saturday. Brown matches up against Columbia on the road on Saturday.---For more college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/-Top25---This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from LLC, https://www.stats.com

Feb 15, 2019NIAGARA, N. Y. Tykei Greene had 14 points off the bench to carry Manhattan to a 64-60 win over Niagara on Friday night.Samir Stewart had 14 points for Manhattan (8-17, 6-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Ebube Ebube added 11 points. Tyler Reynolds had seven rebounds for the visiting team.Dominic Robb had 17 points for the Purple Eagles (11-15, 4-9), who have now lost four consecutive games. James Towns added 11 points.The Jaspers improve to 2-0 against the Purple Eagles for the season. Manhattan defeated Niagara 90-80 on Jan. 5. Manhattan plays Canisius on the road on Sunday. Niagara plays Fairfield at home on Sunday.---For more college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/-Top25---This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from LLC, https://www.stats.com

Feb 15, 2019PRINCETON, N. J. Bryce Aiken had 33 points as Harvard beat Princeton 78-69 on Friday night.Aiken shot 9 for 11 from the foul line.Noah Kirkwood had 16 points for Harvard (12-8, 5-2 Ivy League). Justin Bassey added 10 points and seven rebounds. Chris Lewis had three blocks for the road team.Harvard put up 45 second-half points, a season high for the team.Richmond Aririguzoh had 15 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for the Tigers (12-8, 4-3). Devin Cannady added 15 points and six rebounds. Sebastian Much had 14 points.Harvard plays Penn on the road on Saturday. Princeton matches up against Dartmouth at home on Saturday.---For more college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/-Top25---This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap , using data from LLC, https://www.stats.com

Feb 15, 2019LAWRENCEVILLE, N. J. Frederick Scott had 21 points as Rider beat Monmouth 81-72 on Friday night.Tyere Marshall had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Rider (13-13, 8-6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference), which broke its five-game losing streak. Stevie Jordan added 15 points and six assists. Dimencio Vaughn had 11 points for the hosts.Ray Salnave had 17 points and six rebounds for the Hawks (10-17, 9-5), whose four-game win streak came to end as they fell out of first place, a half-game behind Canisius. He also had seven turnovers but only one assist. Deion Hammond added 11 points. Diago Quinn had 11 points and 12 rebounds.The Broncs evened the season series against the Hawks with the win. Monmouth defeated Rider 75-71 on Feb. 2. Rider faces St. Peter's on the road on Sunday. Monmouth faces Marist at home on Sunday.---For more college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/-Top25---Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from LLC, https://www.stats.com

Feb 14, 2019A pair of conference losses jeopardized Buffalo's status as a Top 25 team. Toledo hopes to bounce the Bulls out of the rankings, and possibly take their place.Ranked 25th in the latest poll, Buffalo will play at Toledo on Friday night in a showdown between division leaders in the Mid-American Conference.The Bulls (21-3 overall, 9-2 league) are tied with Bowling Green in the East Division, while the Rockets (20-4, 8-3) hold the top spot in the West.Buffalo has defeated Central Michigan and Akron since Bowling Green handed the preseason favorite its second MAC loss. The Bulls are the first ranked team in 20 years to play at Toledo's Savage Arena, where the natives will be ready for their marked visitors."Both teams are at the top of their divisions," Rockets athletic director Mike O'Brien told the Toledo Blade. "These teams played for the conference championship last year in Cleveland. I think it is the perfect storm. We don't have ranked opponents at Savage very often. This just happens to be a league opponent, which makes it that much better." Buffalo is finding life as a ranked team and the conference's top dog burdensome.The Bulls nearly gave away a nine-point lead in the final minute against the Zips, who have never beaten a ranked team, but held for a 76-70 victory on Tuesday."We're getting everybody's best shot now," guard Davonta Jordan told the Buffalo News. "People are just trying to come back and get at us, so we've got a target on our back now." The Bulls are shooting 46.5 percent from the field this season and averaging 84.7 points but they struggled with Akron's ability to slow the game down."They're a better defensive team than we are, and I think it showed (Tuesday)," coach Nate Oats said. "It was difficult for us to score for long stretches of the game. ... We just didn't close it very well. We've got to do a better job of closing games." The Bulls had no trouble putting away the Rockets in the first meeting between the conference powerhouses last month. Buffalo scored 65 second-half points in a 110-80 blowout. Senior guard Jeremy Harris erupted for 34 points and added seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.Toledo heads into the rematch with a five-game winning streak. It captured a quality win at Bowling Green on Saturday. Senior guard Chris Darrington scored 20 points, one shy of his season high, in the 78-71 victory.Darrington is the fifth-leading scorer (9.8 points per game) in a balanced attack. The Rockets have six players averaging nine or more points, led by senior guard Jaelan Sanford (15.8 ppg). Darrington scored a team-high 21 points off the bench at Buffalo while Sanford was held to three points.Coach Tod Kowalczyk expects a packed house and a frenzied atmosphere when the Bulls come to town."I think people in this community know that this is a very good team," he said. "Obviously, we have a good opponent with a nationally ranked Buffalo team coming in. I like to think this is an easy sellout, as it should be." --Field Level Media

Feb 15, 2019TOLEDO, Ohio Nick Perkins matched his career high with 26 points - hitting four 3-pointers in the second half - to help No. 25 Buffalo beat Toledo 88-82 on Friday night.The Bulls (22-3, 10-2 Mid-American Conference) fell behind 10-0 and 17-4 in the first half, but Toledo (20-5, 8-4) never came all that close to delivering a knockout blow. Buffalo star CJ Massinburg picked up three fouls in the first half and finished with only 14 points, but the Bulls calmly worked their way back after their poor start.This was perhaps the most anticipated game of the MAC regular season - a rematch of last year's conference tournament final. Buffalo won that game and also beat Toledo by 30 last month, but the Rockets figured to put up a better fight on their home court.They did, but only to a point. Toledo led 39-36 at halftime, and the Bulls didn't go ahead until Davonta Jordan's 3-pointer put them up 59-56 around the midway point of the second half. Soon after that, Perkins made a trio of 3-pointers in quick succession, giving Buffalo a 70-62 lead. The Bulls held on from there.Jaelan Sanford led Toledo with 24 points.BIG PICTUREBuffalo: The Bulls have been knocked off a couple times in conference play, but this was one of their more impressive wins. Not everything went right for Buffalo by any means, but there should be little doubt that this team is the class of the conference after this poised performance on the road.Toledo: The Rockets should be disappointed that they couldn't maintain their double-digit lead until halftime, especially with several Buffalo players dealing with foul issues. Toledo still leads the MAC West and may get another shot at East-leading Buffalo in the conference tournament.POLL IMPLICATIONSBuffalo stayed in the Top 25 after losses to Northern Illinois and Bowling Green, and the Bulls may move up now, depending on how voters view this win away from home.UP NEXTBuffalo: The Bulls play their next three games at home, starting Tuesday night against Ohio.Toledo: The Rockets play at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday night.---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25---Follow Noah Trister at www. Twitter.com/noahtrister

Feb 15, 2019HAMDEN, Conn. Austin Williams had 14 points off the bench to lead Marist to a 63-61 win over Quinnipiac on Friday night.Brian Parker had 12 points and six assists for Marist (11-14, 6-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Ryan Funk added 10 points.Matthew Herasme made a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to give the Red Foxes a 62-58 lead.Cameron Young had 24 points for the Bobcats (13-11, 8-5). Jacob Rigoni added 13 points. Tyrese Williams had seven rebounds.The Red Foxes leveled the season series against the Bobcats with the win. Quinnipiac defeated Marist 92-78 on Jan. 25. Marist faces Monmouth on the road on Sunday. Quinnipiac plays Siena on the road on Sunday.---For more college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/-Top25---Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap , using data from LLC, https://www.stats.com

Feb 16, 2019STATESBORO, Ga. Tookie Brown and Isaiah Crawley scored 16 points apiece as Georgia Southern rolled to a 76-51 victory over Troy on Friday night.Georgia Southern (16-10, 8-5 Sun Belt Conference) has won three of its last four games while Troy (11-14, 4-9) has lost six of its last seven.The Eagles built a five-point halftime lead and outscored the Trojans 44-24 in the second half.Brown, who averages 17 points, was 6 of 15 from the floor and had five of Georgia Southern's 16 steals. Crawley was 6-of-9 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. David-Lee Jones Jr. added 11 points and Montae Glenn chipped in eight points and 10 rebounds.KJ Simon had 12 points to lead Troy. Darian Adams and Javan Johnson each added 10 points.The Eagles opened the second half on a 21-4 run. Brown and Glenn scored on dunks during the stretch.

Feb 15, 2019DAYTON, Ohio Bill Wampler scored a career-high 29 points and Wright State rallied to beat Northern Kentucky 81-77 on Friday night and join the Norse in a first-place tie in the Horizon League.Wampler was 10-of-14 shooting and made four 3-pointers for the Raiders (16-11, 10-4). Loudon Love added 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. The Raiders shot 55 percent and made 9 of 19 from the arc.Drew McDonald scored 23 points with four 3-pointers and nine rebounds for the Norse (20-7, 10-4), who shot 50 percent and made 12 of 27-3-point attempts. Tyler Sharpe, who also made four 3s, and Dantez Walton added 16 points each.A bucket by Wampler gave Wright State a 77-75 lead with 1:14 remaining. Four free throws extended the lead before Northern Kentucky cut it to four with five seconds left and the Raiders ran out the clock.Wright State trailed 43-27 with 4:54 left in the first half before cutting the deficit to five at halftime.

Time: 7:00 PM EST Venue: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, N. Y., 14203 / Their longest homestand of the season began with some shaky defensive performances, but the Buffalo Sabres have tightened up their defense in recent games. The Sabres aim to continue their defensive improvement and get consecutive wins for the first time in over two months on Friday night when they conclude a seven-game homestand against the New York Rangers. The Sabres began the homestand by allowing 17 goals and going 1-1-1 in three games against Chicago, Minnesota, and Carolina. Since then, they have won two of three games by sandwiching 3-1 victories over the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders around a 3-1 loss to Winnipeg." It's probably been a bit inconsistent, but we have a good test on Friday against a team that's playing good hockey," Buffalo center Jack Eichel said. "It's going to be important for us to come out and have a good effort on home ice to end this homestand." On Tuesday, the Sabres (28-21-7) reached 63 points to surpass their total from last season by beating the Islanders, allowing only 25 shots on goal. It was their third straight game allowing under 30 after giving up 105 shots in the first three games of the homestand." It's the time of year you need to defend to win games," Buffalo right winger Jason Pominville said. "I think everybody's starting to realize that." Pominville scored the game-winning goal 6:49 into the second period against the Islanders and has three goals on the homestand. Jack Eichel had two assists Tuesday and has two goals and six assists in his last six games. Jeff Skinner scored his 34th goal Tuesday and is three shy of his career-high set two seasons ago. The Sabres last won consecutive games Dec. 11-13 when they beat Los Angeles and Arizona at home. Since then, they are 9-12-3. They are hoping to continue defending well before playing eight of their next 11 on the road." The way that we were giving them up, just kind of standing around in front, not taking our guys, it was a big wake-up call for us, because if we're going to make the playoffs, we need to be really, really good defensively," Buffalo right winger Kyle Okposo said. While the Sabres enter Friday four points behind Pittsburgh for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Rangers (24-24-8, 56 points) are 11 points back, and trade rumors are starting to surface ahead of the Feb. 25 deadline. One candidate to be moved is Mats Zuccarello, who of late is forming strong chemistry with Mika Zibanejad. Zuccarello recorded two assists in Tuesday's 4-3 loss at Winnipeg and has 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in his last 12 games. He also has a multi-point game in six of his last 11 contests and has 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in his last 25 contests." We're playing so many games now, it's not hard to keep my focus on the ice," Zuccarello told reporters. "I'm keeping a clear mind about things. It's not like I'm waiting to be told that I'm traded. We'll all find out soon enough." Zibanejad scored twice against Winnipeg and has 13 goals in his last 11 games. He also has 21 points in his last 13 contests and leads the team with 25 goals and 56 points." It's obviously nice to see the bounces go in," Zibanejad said. "But we didn't win, so it doesn't really matter." Another candidate to be moved by the deadline is Kevin Hayes, whose 38 points are third on the team. The Rangers and Sabres split a pair of 3-1 games earlier in this season. Buffalo goaltender Carter Hutton made 43 saves in Buffalo's home win on Oct. 6, while Henrik Lundqvist stopped 39 shots in New York's home win on Nov. 4. Overall, New York is 12-2 in the last 14 meetings with the Sabres.--Field Level Media

/ BUFFALO, N. Y. Rookie Alexandar Georgiev stopped 31 shots, including 13 in the final period, and the New York Rangers rolled to a 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night. Vladislav Namestnikov scored twice in the final four minutes, while also adding an assist. Jesper Fast and Boo Nieves staked the Rangers to a 2-0 lead in the first period, and Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich also scored. New York improved to 8-5-1 in its past 14 and earned its 58th point to move into 12th in the Eastern Conference standings. Buffalo squandered a chance to close the gap on idle Pittsburgh in the race for the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff spot. The Sabres have 63 points and remain four behind the Penguins. Jeff Skinner scored twice for Buffalo, including his team-leading 36th, and Linus Ullmark stopped 23 shots. With the Rangers up 3-2, Georgiev was particularly sharp in the opening six minutes of the third period. First, he got across to his left to stop Rasmus Dahlin's one-timer 58 second in. Some five minutes later, the goalie squared up in his crease to stop Tage Thompson's shot from the slot. Georgiev won his third straight start. He was coming off a 55-save performance in a 4-1 win over Toronto on Sunday. Buchnevich put New York up 4-2 by tapping in Kevin Hayes' pass into the open left side with 4:01 left. Namestnikov then scored into an open net off the ensuing faceoff after Ullmark misplayed the puck. It caromed off Ullmark's stick and toward the front of the net to Namestnikov. The Sabres closed their seven-game homestand at 3-3-1 while continuing a lengthy string of inconsistent outings. Coming off a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday, Buffalo was trying to win consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 11-13. Skinner cut the Rangers' lead to 2-1 by one-timing in Jason Pominville's pass into the left circle 53 seconds into the second period. The Rangers responded 54 seconds later, when Vesey jammed a puck inside the right post off a pass from Buchnevich. Skinner then scored a power-play goal with 3:04 left. Dahlin corralled a bouncing puck and fed Skinner at the top of the right circle, and he knuckled in a shot that fooled Georgiev. NOTES: LW Connor Brickley made his Rangers debut a month after he was acquired in a trade that sent Cole Schneider to Nashville. Brickley played in place of rookie Filip Chytil, who was benched because of what coach David Quinn described as steadily declining play. ... Sabres D Zach Bogosian returned after missing two games with a lower-body injury. ... Quinn is pleased with Vesey's physical play of late, which is noticeably getting under the skin of opponents. ''It's a funny sport. When you (tick) people off, they tend to come after you after the whistle,'' Quinn said. ''So he's (ticking) people off with his play.''UP NEXTRangers: At Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. Sabres: Open three-game road trip at New Jersey on Sunday.---More NHL: www.apnews.com/NHL and www.twitter.com/-Sports

Time: 7:30 PM EST Venue: PNC Arena, Raleigh, N. C., 27607 / The Carolina Hurricanes are coming off one of the best road trips in franchise history. Now they want to make sure they follow that up with a strong three-game homestand. That next stretch begins Friday night against the Edmonton Oilers in Raleigh, N. C." We're trying to scratch and claw and get ourselves in the mix," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said, referring to the Eastern Conference playoff picture. "We don't really look to the past. We move on and try to get that next one." Yet the recent stretch was pretty good to the Hurricanes (29-22-6, 64 points). Carolina matched the best record in franchise history for a five-game road trip with a 4-1-0 mark. The Hurricanes are coming off a 4-1 victory Tuesday night at Ottawa, where a four-goal third period provided the good feelings. Converting at the offensive end continues to be a sticking point at times. Carolina has reached the four-goal mark in three of its last five games." We talk about sticking with it, but it's hard when you're struggling to find the net," Brind'Amour said. The Hurricanes have made some adjustments in order to get center Sebastian Aho more touches of the puck. They'd also like to see left winger Teuvo Teravainen launch more toward the net, because that generally produces good results. Teravainen scored twice in the Ottawa game, pushing his total goals to 17 for the season. That's the second-most on the team behind Aho's 24. Yet so much of the success in the offensive zone comes down to the ability make things happen on power plays. It's like a bonus when Carolina scores with the man advantage, because it has had one of the most sluggish power plays in the NHL this season." Every game, the power play has a chance to be the difference," said Brind'Amour, whose team has four power-play goals across the past four contests after a three-game drought. Two of those came at Ottawa. The Oilers (24-27-5, 53 points) began a three-game road trip with Wednesday night's 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Edmonton has only one victory in February (1-3-2), but the performance in Pittsburgh was encouraging for a team that's chasing a Western Conference playoff spot." We've got to continue to take steps," Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We have to follow this up with continual good games if we want to stay in this race. We have to keep playing well so we have a chance to even go for it." The Pittsburgh game included an early lead for the Oilers and a final advantage of 39-34 in shots." We did a lot of things really well," Hitchcock said. "The stuff about playing for each other on the five-man shift, we did exactly that. It didn't lack for scoring chances." Oilers center Connor McDavid is without a goal in four straight games, though he has an eight-game points streak." I have to find a way to bear down," McDavid said. McDavid posted two assists in the Jan. 20 matchup with the Hurricanes, who won that game 7-4 in Edmonton. Last season, the teams split two meetings, with each winning on the road.--Field Level Media

/ RALEIGH, N. C. Nino Niederreiter kept scoring goals for his new team. Curtis McElhinney kept up his mastery of the Edmonton Oilers. They pushed the Carolina Hurricanes closer to playoff position. Niederreiter scored two goals, McElhinney stopped the final 40 shots he faced, and the Hurricanes beat the Oilers 3-1 on Friday night.''Every single game matters a lot,'' Niederreiter said, ''so we've got to make sure we even win the close ones.''Lucas Wallmark also scored and Sebastian Aho had two assists for the Hurricanes, who have won 15 of 21 since Dec. 31 for the best record in the NHL in that span. Carolina, which has not made the postseason in a decade, moved a point behind idle Pittsburgh for the final wild-card playoff spot in the East.''I think we're just getting critical plays at critical times right now,'' McElhinney said. ''We know what the situation is, and it's going to take a lot for us to get into the playoffs, but the guys have been rolling since before the break, and we came out of it pretty hot. So it's just a matter of gas pedal to the floor.''Leon Draisaitl scored his team-leading 34th goal on the Oilers' first shot, and Mikko Koskinen made 24 saves while losing his sixth straight decision. Edmonton is 1-7-2 in its last 10 and was held to two or fewer goals in six of those games, all regulation losses.''We're generating chances. We're making plays,'' captain Connor McDavid said. ''We're just not finding a way to score.''The well-traveled McElhinney improved to 7-0-0 against Edmonton - his best career record against any opponent. With the Hurricanes largely unable to dictate play - Edmonton was outshooting them 29-14 after two periods - he single-handedly kept them in this one, with his best saves coming on a point-blank attempt by Colby Cave with about 13 1/2 minutes left and a stop on McDavid with about 5 minutes remaining to keep it a one-goal game. Niederreiter then gave Carolina a two-goal lead with 3:37 left by taking a feed from Aho and slipping a knuckler past Koskinen. Since he was acquired from Minnesota on Jan. 17, he has eight goals in 12 games after scoring nine in 46 games with the Wild.''At the end of the day, you want to be the best player you can be, and sometimes a change helps,'' Niederreiter said. ''Sometimes it doesn't, and in my case, it definitely helped a lot.''It was a successful start to what could be a pivotal stretch for the Hurricanes. They played themselves back into the playoff conversation while polishing off the club's best five-game road trip since 1998, and of their next seven opponents, six began Friday night's games behind them in the standings. Defense was optional early in this one, with the teams combining for three goals in the first 2 minutes, 16 seconds of the game. Goals from Niederreiter and Wallmark sandwiched Draisaitl's slick goal on a give-and-go, before things tightened up the rest of the way.''They get the second one, and that's the way the game goes the rest of the night,'' McDavid said. ''It's funny how it works sometimes.''NOTES: Draisaitl and McDavid have combined to score 65 of the Oilers' 158 goals. ... Aho, who assisted on both of Neiderreiter's goals, has a career-high 66 points.... Tempers flared late in the second when Niederreiter, after being hit by Kris Russell, took a run at Oscar Klefbom that sparked a brief melee. Niederreiter received a 2-minute boarding penalty. UP NEXTOilers: Complete a three-game road trip Saturday night by visiting the New York Islanders. Hurricanes: Wrap up a back-to-back set of home games Saturday night against Dallas.---More NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/-Sports

Time: 8:30 PM EST Venue: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN, 55102 / Bruce Boudreau offered perhaps the boldest words spoken this season by an NHL head coach on Thursday afternoon, when he guaranteed his team, the struggling Minnesota Wild, would make a seventh straight trip to the postseason." We're going to make the playoffs," Boudreau said following practice. "That's about as elaborate as I want to get. You want me to predict how many wins we're going to have in the last month and a half? No. But we're going to make the playoffs." Then again, if a head coach is going to make such a stout statement, best to do so when his team is about to face an opponent that can make him look prescient. The Wild will look to get back on track against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night in Saint Paul, Minn. The Devils remained winless through the first two legs of a three-game Western Conference road trip Thursday night, when they squandered an early two-goal lead and fell to the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-2. The Wild last played Tuesday, when their skid continued with a 5-4 loss to the host Philadelphia Flyers. Minnesota has lost six of seven (1-4-2) to fall into a tie for the final Western Conference wild card with Vancouver, though the Wild have two games in hand on the Canucks. However, if recent history is any indication, the Devils may be exactly what the Wild need to steady themselves in the playoff race. The Wild's lone win since the All-Star Break came last Saturday, when they beat the host Devils 4-2. Minnesota is just one of several Western teams to take advantage of struggling New Jersey, which is 1-4-1 in its past six games. In that stretch, the Devils have lost to the Blackhawks, the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings. If the Wild are going to keep pace and back up Boudreau's proclamation, they will need to take advantage of the Devils for the second time in a week." I know our team," Boudreau said Thursday. "We've made it before. I don't know if the right word is precipice, but we're on the edge of things being really good rather than being very mediocre." The Devils slipped on to the wrong side of that line long ago. New Jersey opened the season with four straight wins but since has produced just three other winning streaks, one of three games and two of two games. The Devils sit in 30th place in the NHL, ahead of only the Ottawa Senators. The loss to the Blackhawks marked the seventh time this season the Devils dropped a game they led 2-0. Still, there is little for New Jersey to do but take solace in jumping out early and hoping it eventually can put together a complete game." You have to come into every day with a positive attitude and believe you're going to win the game," Devils goalie Cory Schneider said Thursday night, when he took the loss after recording 31 saves. "As a group, we did a lot of good things tonight, and we'll just build off those to carry us into the next game." --Field Level Media

/ ST. PAUL, Minn. Nico Hischier scored 3:19 into overtime, Cory Schneider got his first win in nearly 14 months and the New Jersey Devils rallied to beat the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Friday night. Hischier, Marcus Johansson and Kyle Palmieri each had a goal and an assist for the Devils, who won for the second time in eight games. Will Butcher and Ben Lovejoy also scored. Schneider had 15 saves in relief, including three in overtime. He allowed five goals Thursday in Chicago and was 0-17-4 since his last win on Dec. 27, 2017. Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk misplayed the puck in his own end and made one save before Hischier slammed home a rebound, completing an improbable comeback. Playing for the third time in four nights, New Jersey trailed 4-1 late in the second period before Butcher started the comeback by scoring off a deflected pass. Palmieri added a power-play goal midway through the third. Lovejoy scored with 2:45 left in regulation when he beat Dubnyk with a low slap shot from the left circle. Dubnyk has allowed 10 goals in the last two games, both losses that included Minnesota blowing a multi-goal lead. Mikael Granlund and Brad Hunt each had a goal and assist for Minnesota, which dropped to 1-5-2 in its past eight games. Joel Eriksson Ek and Nick Seeler also scored, and Ryan Suter had two assists. The Wild are clinging to the final playoff wild card in the jumbled Western Conference. Seeler and Granlund scored in the first part of the second to increase Minnesota's lead to 4-1 and end Keith Kinkaid's night with 13 saves. Hunt scored a power-play goal and Eriksson Ek turned a gaffe by Kinkaid behind his net into an easy wraparound for a 2-0 lead midway through the first. Eriksson Ek has four goals in five career games against New Jersey. Johansson scored on a one-timer 26 seconds into the second to get the Devils on the board. NOTES: New Jersey is 2-18-2 when trailing after the first period. ... The Devils placed C Blake Coleman (upper body) on injured reserve and activated LW Miles Wood off IR. Coleman has 18 goals, second-best on the team. ... Play was stopped in the first period when, prior to a TV timeout, the Wild ice crew opened the Zamboni door thinking Dubnyk held onto the puck after a save during a New Jersey forecheck. UP NEXTDevils: Open a three-game homestand Sunday against Buffalo. Wild: Host St. Louis on Sunday.---More NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/-Sports

Time: 10:00 PM EST Venue: Honda Center, Anaheim, CA, 92806 / Having already shown they can win at home without David Pastrnak, the Boston Bruins now get a chance to do the same on the road when they face the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night. Pastrnak, whose 31 goals lead the Bruins, is out for at least two weeks following a procedure to repair an off-ice thumb injury. In their first game without him Tuesday, goals were not a problem in a 6-3 victory over the much-improved Chicago Blackhawks. Now comes a trip to Anaheim against a Ducks squad that has been mired in one of the worst runs in franchise history, having lost 19 of their last 22 games." We're going to need contributions from everybody with 'Pasta' going down there for a bit," left winger Brad Marchand said, according to NHL.com. Marchand leads the Bruins with 69 points, three more than Pastrnak, after collecting a goal and three assists against the Blackhawks. Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk each had a goal and two assists in the victory." Heinen was unreal ... made a lot of big plays," Marchand said. "Jake was very clutch as well, so great games by them. It's fun to see them play like that and add some much-needed depth to our group. Heinen has been great the last little bit, so we need that to continue." The Bruins (32-17-8, 72 points) have recorded a point in eight straight games (5-0-3), all since the All-Star break. Now comes a West Coast trip to Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose and Las Vegas, before a stop at St. Louis ahead of a return home Feb. 26 against the Sharks. The Ducks know all about long journeys, playing at home just once in 31 days before earning a 1-0 victory in their own building Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks. In the first game with Bob Murray serving as head coach, rookie goaltender Kevin Boyle earned the shutout in his first career start. He stopped 35 shots to become the first Ducks goaltender with a shutout in his initial start since All-Star John Gibson did the same in 2014. Gibson (upper body) went on the injured reserved list Wednesday, opening the door for Boyle's opportunity." It was how calm he was," Murray said of Boyle. "He was calm, and that's what I like about him." Murray -- the team's vice president and general manager, who has never been an NHL head coach -- said he wanted to move to the bench for the time being to get an up-close-and-personal look at the team and what makes it click during games. In the first game under Murray, the Ducks showed an aggressive style of play, with players like Ryan Getzlaf, Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Kesler all participating in on-ice skirmishes with the Canucks." Everything was positive on the bench," Murray said. "They were helping each other. When you have struggled like as bad as they have struggled, you have to trust one another again. That will come. There were some pieces of them trusting each other again, and that's how you have to do it." More than a physical brand of hockey, though, what the Ducks really need is goals. They got away with a low-scoring victory Wednesday, but it has not worked often, as the Ducks are 22-26-9 (53 points), while sitting last in the league with 128 total goals. By comparison, the Tampa Bay Lightning entered Thursday with an NHL-high 223 goals. In addition to Gibson's injury, the Ducks are also without goaltender Chad Johnson (head). Forwards Patrick Eaves (illness) and Kevin Roy (upper body) are day-to-day, while forward Ondrej Kase (shoulder) is out indefinitely. In addition to Pastrnak's injury, defenseman Matthew Grzelcyk (lower body) is day-to-day for the Bruins.--Field Level Media

/ ANAHEIM, Calif. Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves in his fourth shutout of the season, and the Boston Bruins beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-0 on Friday night for their fourth consecutive victory. Noel Acciari and Jake DeBrusk scored for the Bruins, who have earned at least a point in nine consecutive games. Chris Wagner added an empty-netter with 1:31 remaining. Kevin Boyle made 26 saves for the Ducks, who have lost 20 of their past 23 games. Acciari put the Bruins in front 5:31 into the first period when he tipped Brandon Carlo's powerful slap shot past Boyle, ending a 16-game scoreless streak. Carlo had gone 25 games without a point since scoring at Pittsburgh on Dec. 14. He also made a big defensive play by deflecting Brandon Montour's follow-up shot of a breakaway by Ducks rookie forward Max Jones late in the first period. The Bruins made it 2-0 on DeBrusk's power-play goal 5:07 into the second. Boyle got caught out of position after challenging David Krejci, who easily skated past the rookie and fed DeBrusk for an easy tap-in. DeBrusk scored for the second straight game. Torey Krug had the secondary assist, his sixth during a five-game streak. NOTES: It was Halak's 46th career shutout. ... Anaheim was shut out for the sixth time this season. ... Krejci has three goals and three assists in his past five games. ... Krug has nine assists in his past nine games. UP NEXTBruins: Visit Los Angeles on Saturday night. Ducks: Host Washington on Sunday night.---More NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHL and https://twitter.com/-Sports

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